The day has come...

I awoke with the sun’s rays heating my face, their warm touch comfortable and soothing on that cold morning. Yet as I laid on my bed, staring amiably at the ceiling, something felt wrong. I felt heavy and my muscles were tense, like a huge weight had been thrown upon me while I was sleeping and only now I began to feel its pressure. I twisted around and passed my fingers over my back, near the shoulder blades, however nothing was there. Yet even though I couldn’t touch it I could feel it there, weighing me down. Someone knocked at the door, bringing me back from my sea of thoughts.

My mother rushed into my room, a brilliant smile on her face, a smile I hadn’t seen in a long time and I smiled too. She gazed at me, a gift in one hand and two words on her lips: Happy Birthday!

Understanding suddenly crept into my heart and crawled into the depths of my soul. The chains that binded my wings for so long was undone at last. Now all the responsibility, the worry, the troubles – all that the chains held back now rested upon my shoulders. The burden I had always feared now greeted me with open arms. The day had finally come…

Yet as my mother came skipping over to my side, anxious to see me open my gift, I realized: I still needed time to get used to the burden they had given me, I needed time to learn and to understand, and only then would I be able to open my wings and fly towards the freedom I so longed for…

…but not yet…